


Spark An Inferno

by archergwen



Series: Still Burning Embers [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, and should be considered his own warning, more tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27235765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archergwen/pseuds/archergwen
Summary: Something is moving in the dark (and it might be bigger than Ozai), and the young Avatar Aang has a lot to balance. It doesn't help that Sozin's Comet is finally coming, but he's still just a fifteen-year-old trying to save the world. His friends are still here to help him, though one is currently captured...Katara isn't letting Zuko slip away, not when they'd finally taken a step forward right before Ba Sing Se was liberated. It's convenient that rescuing her maybe boyfriend requires going to the same palace where the Fire Lord waits. He'd better be in one piece, or Katara might usurp Aang's destiny and bring the Fire Nation crashing down.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Still Burning Embers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988866
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	1. New Horizons

The wind caught the loose strands of her hair and tossed them about as she stared straight ahead at the vast horizon before her.

"How's your boyfriend?"

Mai replied with a drawl, "He's not my boyfriend."

Azula's hands wrapped around the railing next to Mai, almost like claws. Mai turned to meet her princess's eyes, noting a hint of desperation that vanished as soon as identified. "He had better be. Do you understand? By the time we land, _he had better be._ "

"Perfectly, Azula."

"Good. We would hate for his victorious homecoming to be spoiled by unpleasant baggage."

Mai hummed as she stared back out to sea. The speedy Fire Nation ship hummed with her, the machinery comforting after the flight out of the Earthen city. "There is the not insignificant fact that it will be nice to have a body in between you and your father's attention again."

"I have no idea what-"

"Don't lie to me, Azula. Lie to yourself, but don't lie to me or Ty Lee. Not anymore."

Silence fell between them, Azula's mouth pulled into a thin, angry line.

"This new thing? You interrupting me? It stays behind on the ship. Do you understand?"

Mai's spine was already ramrod straight when she replied, "Perfectly, Azula." She turned on her heel and walked away.

* * *

The wind caught the loose strands of her hair and tossed them about as she stared straight ahead at the vast horizon before her.

"How's Katara doing?" Toph whispered, leaning against the same metal as Sokka.

"Okay, I think."

Toph sighed. "This is my fault."

"How could this possibly be your fault?"

"Well, Katara told me she liked Zuko, and I encouraged her to go for it, got her hopes up, and less than twenty four hours later he gets nabbed. If I hadn't opened my big mouth-"

"Hey, none of that. You saw a chance to help a friend, to help my sister. I'm glad you took it. Also, you can't pretend you're the one with a loose lip problem. That's me and Aang, if anyone." He chuckled. "Besides, if the thought her liking him was requited is what lit this fire under her butt, you did good. With Ba Sing Se free, we have a shot at an invasion working - eclipse or not. I don't know if we would've tried to take advantage of it without Katara pushing to rescue Zuko."

Toph paused, feeling the metal beneath her feet. The captured ship moved quickly, but its own vibrations made it hard to sense people as well as she was used to. But Katara did seem to still be staring ahead, off to sea.

"I'm pretty sure they made out a little, though."

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Sokka!"

"It's the only way he'll take seriously any _hurt my sister or I'll break your leg_ talk now."

"If his sister doesn't break his legs first."

There was a clear wince from Katara felt through the deck. Oops.

"Come on, Toph. Let's go see my dad. Run a few scenarios with him."

She let Sokka lead her away for a few steps before whispering again, "Katara heard me; didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Well, shit. I'll have to apologize now."

"That might put some life back into her eyes," Sokka said with a laugh.

* * *

As had become normal, he woke up too warm and too comfortable. The sun was just starting to rise, so Zuko sighed, tossing the silk sheets to the side as he sat up. He rubbed at his eyes, and then blinked furiously before gathering the top sheet back and up to his shoulders. "Mai!"

"Relax. I'm not here to kill you."

She didn't smile, but it seemed like it might be a joke. Her tone was blank, of course, so he really had no clue.

"Well, then what are you doing here?"

She sighed, bored and disappointed. Leaning back in the chair right next to his bed, she met his gaze. "Helping you come up with your cover story."

"My what?"

"Your cover story. So your dad doesn't kill you or Azula."

Zuko scoffed. "Like he'd kill Azula."

Mai raised a single eyebrow before continuing, "Regardless, if you ever want to see that Water Tribe peasant-"

"Her name is Kat-"

She was standing, a knife at his throat, in the blink of an eye. Her gaze and voice remained calm, however, almost disinterested. "Do not even _think_ her name, Zuko. Don't paint a target on her back that your father will etch in blood. You will pretend she doesn't exist, and if forced to acknowledge her then pretend it was all part of your long con." With a flick of her fingers, the knife vanished. Mai sat back down, nary a wrinkle on her skirts.

Zuko cleared his throat. "What's in it for you, keeping me alive?"

"Keeping Azula alive."

"You didn't live in the palace with us, Mai. She's the prodigy, his favorite. The star of his eye who was born lucky. He needs an heir, and he's not stupid."

Mai hummed. "And you have been presumed dead three years, head down in the Earth Kingdom. Your father has been inviting more and more nobles with unmarried daughters to visit - don't look at me like that! Nobles with daughters roughly a decade younger than him _at the youngest._ I'm safe. But the longer the war drags on, the more important it is he get another alliance."

"That's messed up."

"My brother is twelve years younger than me, and they stopped giving a shit about what happened to me once he was born. Our country has been messed up for a while."

"I'm pretty sure Azula can hear whatever is said in this room."

"Not if Ty Lee isn't making her practice non-bending combat."

It was Zuko's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Azula? Fight without bending?"

Mai smirked. "She will if Ty Lee disguises it as dancing that could get fire applied to it later, but she made Azula promise to learn it dry, first, and then experiment."

"I really did miss a lot these past six years."

"Yeah. Do try and keep up."


	2. Small Pebbles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What an American week, huh? *long exhale*

Katara would always feel small wrapped in her father's arms. It was nice, that she could tuck her head under his chin as they hugged and still feel like a little girl, if only for a moment. Like all her responsibilities and burdens might melt away.

They wouldn't though, and her dad couldn't take them from her, as much as he might wish it. So they pull apart, and he gives her a sad but proud smile, and then he joins the rest of his men back on their stolen Fire Nation ship to make their separate preparations for the invasion.

Sokka leans into her, just a little, as they watch their dad sail away again.

Then, ever so gently, her brother turned, taking her with him, to face instead their friends. Toph was still wiggling her feet into the sand, appearing to be content with the world, while Aang watched them both with some expression not quite sympathy and not quite longing. When they met eyes, he smiled.

"Alright, gaang, let's get moving."

Sokka grinned back, and he stepped faster towards the others than Katara could find it in her to manage.

It felt wrong, stepping onto the easternmost isle of the Fire Nation without Zuko. Trespassing somehow, even beyond the trespass of infiltrating an enemy nation in order to kidnap back its prince, and maybe also kill its king.

Perhaps she was being a bit overdramatic.

Aang's shoulder bumped into hers, startling her out of her thoughts. She did not have to look as far down as she might have once to meet his reluctant grin. His hand brushed hers only to take her travel pack from her. "We're going to be okay, you know. And so is Zuko."

"Got an Avatar feeling?" Katara couldn't help the small smile creeping across her face.

"Nah, this one is just me." He briefly turned away from her to airbend her pack onto Appa. "Come on; we'll probably want to spend the night here and do some recon in the morning-"

"You mean Sokka will want to do recon in the morning."

Aang held out a hand, as he had started to walk forward and yet she hadn't. "Gotta watch out for those enemy birds."

For a little moment, the weight of the world did seem to lift, and Katara took her friend's hand, keeping pace as discussion of the best camp location picked up.

* * *

Zuko would always feel small in the throne room.

It was on purpose. He knew that now. The imposing use of black walls and dark columns gilded tastefully so as to highlight the red highlights and the only source of light, now, the wall of flames between him and his father, it was all done to make him feel insignificant as he knelt before the throne. Yet Zuko had only fallen to his knees when forced down. He kept his hands on his thighs, spine straight, and he stared above the flames at the dragon relief that seemed to dance in the shadows the fire threw.

He would feel small, but he would not act it.

Azula was tense beside him, fully prostrate, though he could feel tension and annoyance drifting from her. Zuko would not budge, however. He'd bring this whole palace down on his head if he could guarantee she'd get out and his father would be stuck, but he refused to kneel just to soften the storm coming.

"Rather than the Avatar's corpse, you have brought me failure."

His sister did not visibly tense further. "I met with unexpected resistance, and deemed a tactical retreat necessary to secure my life and that of your heir."

"And thus, Ba Sing Se was lost."

Now Azula flinched.

Their father continued anyway, as slow and inevitable as a lava flow without benders to pull the heat away. "My greatest victory yet, undone, because your supposedly loyal force allowed the Avatar's band to infiltrate the city. And then there's your brother." The focus of the heat shifted to Zuko, who straightened, trying to meet his eyes through the flames. "The prodigal son, returned, dragged from the wall by his sister and no one disagrees with your sister's claims. Yet not even Azula has an answer for what you were doing for three years."

"Firefighting."

Despite the wall of flames, the temperature dropped a few degrees. "You used your bending to put out fires?"

"Don't be ridiculous; they would've killed me if I'd revealed I was a bender. I worked without my bending."

"You-"

"It was quite resourceful, I thought. Left me in the perfect place for when Azula needed me."

"Indeed." Could his father actually be speaking through gritted teeth? Zuko choked down a laugh. His fear responses were all out of whack after years of Uncle's love. "You, who were tasked with bringing me the Avatar so long ago, could not deign to bring his body back either?"

Zuko shrugged. "Hard to do when I was unconscious and the Avatar was in the company of a talented healing bender."

Azula scoffed a little too harshly as she lifted her head to speak again. "Please. As if anyone could bring another back from the dead. Not when struck by lightning from the Royal Family's own hands."

Their father's attention turned back to Azula. "You have staked quite a lot on the claim of the Avatar's death, Princess. Yet I hear no wailing from Ba Sing Se, no flagging of spirits among our foes even as none have heard from nor seen the Avatar these past few weeks."

"As if they'd admit to losing their figurehead, their torch of hope."

"If you are sure."

Azula lowered her head with a cringe.

"Enough of this. I tire of your failures and your brother's insolence. You will depart tomorrow morning with a chosen retinue for our westernmost islands. It has been too long since the farther reaches of our nation have been graced with a royal tour. As you work your way back to the Caldera with a simple task to manage, perhaps you both will have a chance to meditate on what truly matters as well as our greatness. After all, those who stand farthest from our center of greatness, they may find your insolence, endearing." The Fire Lord paused to let the blow sting. "Dismissed."

* * *

"I need someone to pretend to be my parents."

"What?"

Katara looked up from the laundry at Sokka's squawk. "Aang, we're supposed to be lying low. Why do you need fake parents?"

He shuffles his feet. "I may have argued with the teacher about how they were teaching the history of the Air Nomads. We didn't have an army!"

Toph laughs from where she's refining some models, part of her practice on more detail-crazy bending. "Sure _you_ didn't. But there's tons of poems about 'death flying in with Autumn's winds' that are super old. Like, older than Gaoling or the position of Fire Lord, old. That's how effective lies work, Aang."

"How do you know that?" Both Katara and Aang are genuinely curious.

"Noble, remember? I had to memorize all sorts of art stuff, even if I had to do it by having it repeated over and over. I could hear the crinkle of those scrolls though. They were really old. The grammar, too."

"Wow," Aang murmurs, momentarily distracted before his attention slams back to the matter at hand. "Anyway, I got a detention and policy says now they have to speak to a parent or guardian tomorrow after school if possible."

Sokka shakes his head. "Aang, we only agreed to this school thing because Appa needs a rest after the trip across the sea-"

"And because I got accused of truancy I only got out of because I played colonist moved back."

"-but we can move on if we have to. The colonist ploy was a good one, but I don't think there's anything worth staying here for."

Aang draws himself up, spine straight and face serious. "I think you're wrong. I got a chance to talk to some of the students, and I think we should throw them a party." He holds up a hand against their disbelief. "I remember lots of Fire Nation customs they don't, customs they'd never heard of, and I know thanks to class today that Sozin's restrictions on festivals, bards, and poets are to blame. This is our chance to put some rebellion into the hands of kids just like us. Nothing is more dangerous to Ozai's regime than giving the next generation a taste of the freedom they're missing, especially when many will be snatched out of school on their next birthday and shipped away to fight."

Sokka is the first to reply. "You think a party will eventually cause desertion?"

"No, I think a dance party could eventually cause desertion."

"Huh. Katara? Toph? What do you guys think?"

Toph's smile is slow to spread, but all the more genuine for it. "I think it's crazy enough to work."

Katara sits back from the laundry. "We've got to make sure not a single kid gets in trouble, but I agree. I think we should do it, and I think Sokka should be your dad. The principal will not be as harsh on a single parent."

"That's brilliant! I'll be your widowed dad; that's why we moved back and why I'm not currently serving. Katara, I could kiss you."

"You could do the laundry instead?"

"No! I need to get a disguise!"

As he dashes away, Katara turns to Toph. "Can you scout a location for the party? Close, but secret enough to avoid some detection with plenty of escape routes?"

"I'm on it."

"What should I do Katara?"

She holds up the shirt she's just finished cleaning. "Dry?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd hoped to have three or four more chapters out by now, but I got hospitalized around Thanksgiving (if you're subclinical for a thyroid problem and under intense stress, maybe don't wait two years to get it rechecked) and while I was hanging around a few nights while they made sure the meds just fixed me instead of making a new problem too (no liver or heart problems! heck yeah!) I Marie Kondo'd my outline, so this took a bit longer to write than expected. Stay safe, stay healthy if you can, and show some kindness to others, because that *will* make a difference even if you're not in the position to punch a fascist.


End file.
